Warriors Orochi 2 - Stage Treasure FAQ/guide

Musou Orochi Maou Sairin
__________________________
Treasure Guide
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"Where war is a science, slaughter is an art."
--Soban the Red, Kharak
Although there is a "Treasure Guide" snippet in each of the stages that have
potential treasure, the haziness of the clues do not figure into the tight time
schedule and regimented conditions that are well known by any Die! Nasty
Warriors! veteran, so here is a guide to clarify the fog of war. Note,
treasures cannot be depleted once you pick one up, but the abilities on the
weapons may be.
If you are having trouble sating some conditions, you can get these treasures
on the easiest setting (helpful in some cases), just beware of over-stacking
events if you do that. Turn on the events option if you are running into that
problem, or learn to moderate your rage -- generally speaking, almost no one
can kill your officer on easy.
Treasure boxes are black ornate boxes with the old standby item bag. It is very
unique and unlike the other item decanters on the map.
A second player is helpful, although it's recommended you let this second
player do "passive" conditions (like protecting a garrison or fort or allied
officer); any condition that needs you to cause (like defeat a particular
officer, or reach a certain spot to trigger an event) should be done by the
first (top) player in order to keep the "conditions caused" grouped. Past Musou
games have ignored actions of the second player (Samurai/Sengoku is the one at
fault), but it's unknown if BO-mega Farce has changed anything (heard this game
was from a new project lead - i.e., fun).
In any case, a second player is incredibly helpful in keeping certain
conditions clean and valid -- just remember you don't need Xbox Live or
Playstation Network to do 2P co-op in this game -- the way co-op was meant to be.
Treasure! - In no particular order
The order listed here may look peculiar but it is essentially the order in
which the Gallery lists the treasures. If you are looking for a particular
battle, stage, or mission, it would be best to use the internal text string
search feature of your browser or text app (generally APPLE or CTRL and F) to
look for the name of the stage, mission, or battlefield. All the names are
Anglicized to the local version of the Musou series (the stages pretty much
retain the same names from before, down to spelling).
Obsidian
Battle of Odawara Castle (Orochi Musou)
-o- Occupy the southern garrison within 5 minutes.
Seize the southern garrison quickly (possibly within 5 minutes of start) by
destroying all enemy bases and officers in the immediate area. Treasure is
between the southern garrison and Hojo castle.
Jade
Battle of Saika (Shu Musou)
-o- Seize the eastern garrison within 5 minutes.
Carry out the mission quickly (seize the pinged/designated fort - the one
you're initially pointed towards). Treasure is in the fort where the
non-objective target officer is.
Amber
Battle of Si Shui Gate (Wei Musou)
-o- Xiahou Yuan's "fire attack" event must be successful.
Initiate Xiahou Yuan's fire attack in the center and defeat Kotaro Fuma. Note
Xiahou Yuan only needs to enter the center area from the north to trigger the
fire event. Treasure is east (outside) of Lu Bu's castle.
Flourite
Battle of Kanagesaki (Wu Musou)
-o- Both Xia Qiao and Zhou Yu must be alive when Dong Zhuo appears.
Escort Xia Qiao outside the allied garrison to locate Dong Zhuo; insure both
Xia Qiao and Zhou Yu survive when Dong Zhuo appears. Treasure is in the
southwest corner.
Silver
Battle of Ji Province (Samurai/Sengoku Musou)
-o- Defeat a set number of ambush troops.
Defeat the enemy reinforcements in the northeast sector, the ambush unit under
Kojiro Sasaki, and the "enemy ambush unit(s)". Naturally, you will want to beat
off Himiko first to prevent a premature mission failure. Go after Dakki/Da Ji
after completing the rest of the criteria. The target units appear in the
various "rooms" (clearings) on the map. Treasure is near the escape point, at
the south edge of the map.
Agate
Battle of Cheng Du (Orochi Musou)
-o- Open Cheng Du castle gate within 6 minutes from start.
Open the gate of Cheng Du castle quickly (within 6 minutes of start). The
castle is the fortification on the very west, and not the dink-ass square
garrisons on the map. The map generally labels important landmarks, but this
map may not label Cheng Du castle at all. Treasure is in the west courtyard of
the castle (the north edge). Be sure to grab it before facing Zhao Yun (and Liu
Bei escapes).
Diamond
Battle of Nagashino (Shu Musou)
-o- Initiate the Wu reinforcements event within 5 minutes.
Quickly call for Wu reinforcements by defeating the enemy officers in the
battlefield in front of your main camp and by destroying the enemy Defense
Captain in charge of the siege engines. A message, "allies are about arrive"
will mark the start of this event. At that point, you will need to defeat the
two enemy officers near the reinforcement entry (north garrison). If the
reinforcements do not appear on the map within 5 minutes of the mission start,
you failed. Treasure appears in the east garrison.
Malachite
Battle of Shizugatake (Wei Musou)
-o- Destroy all cannon units (not shown on map) ...
-o- ... and encourage Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan to defect (do not defeat them)
Escort messengers to make Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan defect while destroying all the
cannon units (just attack them) before they breach the camp's defences. There
are about a half-dozen of these cannons (give or take) -- just note they do not
appear on the map, so you need to locate them by sight alone. The more
important thing is to avoid letting the messenger turn into butt-sauce (he can
be tracked on the officer list and by the name appearing above him). Aside from
setting the difficulty to easy, a second player can help keep the messenger
alive (a passive condition), while the first player slaughters cannons.
Treasure is in one of the small northern garrisons.
Crystal
Battle of Nan Zhong (Wu Musou)
-o- Insure Meng Huo's two fire attack events successful
-o- Defeat Pang Tong before he reaches allied main camp
Assist/escort Meng Huo in setting two fire attacks and defeat Pang Tong before
he breaches your main camp. Treasure is between two garrisons in the north side
of the map.
Sapphire
Rescue at Hasedo (Samurai/Sengoku Musou)
-o- Accumulate 300 KOs
-o- Yukimura Sanada, Kanetsugu Naoe, and Sakon Shima must survive
Accumulate 300 KOs (team, not individual) before Kanetsugu Naoe is turned into
something that looks like it came out of your ass. Apparently, the optional
(subordinate) officer Yukimura Sanada needs to stay alive (until the treasure
message appears anyway). Treasure is in the middle field, just south of
Kanetsugu's trapped position. You can rescue Kanetsugu before getting the
treasure (and Sanada and Shima are still alive), but note there is some
considerable distance to cover.
Ruby
Battle of Kawanakijima (Orochi Musou)
-o- Defeat Yukimura Sanada
-o- Keiji Maeda cannont be defeated (or retreat)
Simalcrum calls this condition "bullshit". Once the stage starts, defeat
Yukimura Sanada at the south garrison quickly. The treasure message doesn't
appear because it appears BEFORE the message about your officer defeating
Yukimura Sanada in the message history. Nice going with the quality control
there Omega-farce -- be sure to pause your menu and check your messages in the
history for this (this is how simalcrum caught the treasure note). This
condition has almost nothing to do with the garrison, since you kill Yukimura
Sanada so quickly, Keiji Maeda has almost no time to be captured, routed, shot,
beaten, beheaded, sniped with arrows, rifled in the head, bayoneted, crucified,
water-boarded, Chinese nail-tortured, meet the iron maiden, castrated, etc.
Treasure appears north of Zenkoji (Shingen Takeda's camp) on the southwest side
of the map. Naturally, you have to go through the Stone Sentinel Maze to get there.
Amethyst
Battle of Chang Ban (Samurai/Sengoku Musou)
-o- Have Kanetsugu Naoe reach the gunpowder ship quickly
Quickly defeat the mundane officers (and Keiji Maeda) near the gunpowder ship
Kanetsugu Naoe needs to escape to. The cheat sheet says 3 minutes or less, or
your gunpowder ship isn't free. This should be easy, with the right tools (4th
weapon) and easy difficulty. Treasure is near the gunpowder ship's "escape point".
Moonstone
Battle of He Fei (Orochi Musou)
-o- Have lead engineer destroy bridge within 7 minutes of mission start
-o- Defeat Gan Ning and Zhang Liao within 5 minutes after bridge's destruction
First off, do not engage Zhang Liao, Gan Ning, or any of the enemy officers on
the middle island; while you can beat them off, killing them will upset this
condition. Escort the friendly Lead Engineer to the marked bridge and clear it
of enemies. Only AFTER the bridge is destroyed, should you turn on your "kill
switch". You can get to the center island and defeat Zhang Liao and Gan Ning by
the bridges in the north. Once the conditions for the bridge and famous
officers are satisfied, the treasure appears in the middle island (north half).
Emerald
Battle of Jia Meng Gate (Shu Musou)
-o- Defeat Sun WuKwong and all his clones within 5 minutes of start
-o- Zhang Liao must not get killed ... or trip and fall on his own spear.
Multiple times.
Defeat the real Sun Wukwong and keep Zhang Liao alive throughout the process of
smashing the demon's face in. Make that repeatedly smashing its face in, due to
the clones (you don't need to defeat the clones, apart from opening the locked
gates). Note that you will need to get rid of a few clones to get to the real
Sun WuKwong, so work quickly. Treasure is in the poison gas field near Kiyomori
Taira, near a road.
Pearl
Battle of Komaki-Nagakute (Wei Musou)
-o- Pang Tong's fire attack event must be successful within 6 minutes after its
start
Swiftly carry out the fire plan initiated by Pang Tong, meaning escort him to a
destination and make sure he isn't turned into a woman's 30 days special. Clear
out enemies on the way -- while Pang Tong's fleeing A.I. is far stronger than
the damned Orochi sorcerers at Tong Gate -- if he does not start the fire
attack after a certain time, you fail. Treasure is in Kiyomori Taira's castle,
the east battlement.
Onyx
Battle of Okehazama (Wu Musou)
-o- Lead Huang Gai to capture the enemy horse depot within 5 minutes
Swiftly escort Huang Gai to the enemy's horse depot. Seizing the depot yourself
without triggering the two highway clearing events (for your side, not the
enemy side) will not register this condition as successful. Note the
cut-scenese are different for the road clearing (your side and the enemy side
have different camera angles). Treasure appears in front of another fort in the
west, south and east of the horse depot.
Garnet
Battle of Edo Castle (Orochi Musou)
-o- Defeat all four ambush units, Ina, and Masamume Date (second appearance)
Wow. This condition is mo-fugging written wrong (in the game's treasure guide).
First off, there are four ambush units that will appear at each of the gates
(west, east, south, north). Defeat the officers who head them to get the
message "Ambush unit defeated". Once that's done, go into the main keep and
whack off some enemies. When Ina appears with her "sneak attack unit", go back
outside and defeat her. Once that's done, head back up the castle's main keep
and defeat Masamune Date. Officially, the officer criteria lists: Masamune Date
(inside and outside the castle), Kojuro Katakura, Shigezane Date, Nobuyasu
Goto, Masakage Rusu, Naomasa Ii, Yasumasa Sakakibara, and Ina as the
conditional officers. Treasure appears in the room Masamune Date guards (the
one barred off by a gate to Tokugawa).
Aventurine
Battle of Odani Castle (Shu Musou)
-o- Defeat all sorcerers and ambush unit(s) while enroute to Da Ji
-o- Afterwards, defeat Da Ji before Himiko within 5 minutes of mission start
This is best handled by two players -- the second player can delay Himiko by
guarding or doing an air juggle/ice. Proceed through the southern path to
Dakki/Da Ji and defeat any sorcerers who are present (rocks, locks, whirlwinds,
ambush units, phantoms, etc.). Once Da Ji retreats to the center garrison (Kino
Castle) and bids Himiko to flee (conditions for victory will now change),
defeat Dakki/Da Ji so cause the treasure to appear. Treasure will appear in the
central garrison (Kino Castle) where Da Ji holes up.
Carnelian
Battle of Yamatai (Wei Musou)
-o- Destroy all cannon units within 5 minutes of it being called to attention
-o- Defeat Keiji Maeda
Quickly destroy all the cannon units (defeat the officers in charge of them)
and defeat Keiji Maeda. The cannons are marked on the map and the officers in
charge stay close-by (unlike goddamn Another Century's Episode 3), so there is
generally no mistaking who is in charge. Treasure appears in the southeast
corner of the map, near Keiji Maeda's starting position.
Opal
Battle of Yang Ping Gate (Wu Musou)
-o- Defeat Diao Chan within 5 minutes of her entry into battle
Quickly find and defeat Diao Chan. She's starts the northeast but works her ass
down towards your main camp. Splitting her in two is optional, if you're into
rough-play. Treasure is found along the eastern path.
Topaz
Battle of Hu Lao Gate (Samurai/Sengoku Musou)
-o- Defeat Sun WuKwong and his 2 under-officers within 3 minutes of his appearance
-o- Defeat two sorcerers responsible for the fire wall and ghost soldiers
within 3 minutes of the magics' appearance
Quickly slay Sun WuKwong (the real one) -- and apparently, his Orochi buddies
(Golden Rod and Wishbone) when he/they appears/appear. Then defeat the two
sorcerers (check officer roster, they will appear for this battle) to foil
their magic plans. Note that there is an order to your mayhem, so don't stray
from it. Treasure is near Kiyomori Taira's castle.
Phoenix Wing
Battle of Yi Ling (Orochi Musou)
-o- Defeat the four "sneak attack" units within 3 minutes of their appearance
After the "fire spreads!" event, four enemy "sneak attack" units will spawn and
attack your forces. Two spawn on the west side and two on the south side (use
the officer chart to track who is where). Simply defeat all four "sneak attack"
units and you will satisfy this condition. Two players or a fast horse (ro Sun
WuKwong and Impulse) and a death weapon (Honda with 4th weapon) is preferable.
Treasure appears in the center fort's northwest corner.
Dragon Spleen
Battle of Tong Gate (Wei Musou)
-o- Defeat the 9 respawning monster officers (3 in the south, the northeast,
and northwest) at least once ...
-o- ... then defeat the sorcerers respawning them ...
-o- ... and then defeat Sun WuKwong ...
-o- ... while your allies cannot die
WOW. Simalcrum repeat: WOW. Had to get help from insiders on this mission
because it was translated a bit whack. The event stacking makes you slam your
head on your PS2 while cursing how English is such a clumsy, inefficient,
P.O.S. language that can't convey the simple concept of what needs to be killed
and to what degree. Basically, if you're killing the sorcerers as soon as you
find them, you are already doing it wrong. Two players (and possibly easy) may
be helpful here. Have either player kill all 9 of the respawning monster
officers (Massicot, Boomslang, Hognose, Feldspar, Keelback, Copperhead, Levyne,
Bushmaster, and Urutu).
Once they're dead, collect their item (making sure it was the first time you
slew them); when they respawn, it causes the possibility of finding a sorcerer
in the forts (or Sun WuKwong). Because you will need to cross the northern
bridge to get to the last three monsters, deter Dong Zhuo and his ursurping
bastard flunkies -- preferably by killing them -- while another player whacks
Sun WuKwong. Assuming none of your allies (list gives Katsuie Shibata, Xuahou
Wei, Xiahou Hui, and Nagahide Niwa) are killed, the treasure appears near the
northwest garrison where Sun WuKwong and the third sorcerer appear.
Lion Fang
Battle of Yamazaki (Wu Musou)
-o- Defeat the enemy vanguard, Sun WuKwong, and cannon units
-o- No allied units can be defeated (remember the interim save)
Defeat the enemy vanguard, Sun WuKwong, and the enemy cannons while keeping all
your allies safe (undefeated). Treasure appears inside Kiyomori Taira's castle,
the northwest corner. Sounds easy? Try it with a friend.
Chimera Shell
Battle of Bai Di Castle (Samurai/Sengoku Musou)
-o- Nobunaga, Kenshin, and Hideyoshi must enter Bai Di castle within 20 minutes
of start
Quickly clear the path so that Kenshin Uesegi, Nobunaga Oda, and Hideyoshi
Toyotomi can enter Bai Di castle. Of all the paths, Hideyoshi's may be the most
time consuming (you have to go through a maze in the north). You can go through
Bai Di castle to get to the other two armies if you need to, but this is
generally a tough -- but not impossible -- task for one player. Note that you
cannot select Nobunaga Oda, Kenshin Uesegi, or Hideyoshi Toyotomi for this
condition to be satisfied. Treasure appears south and west of Bai Di castle.
Jewel Branch
Battle of Mikatagahara (Orochi Musou)
-o- Lead sorcerers to western storehouse within 5 minutes (sorcery must succeed)
-o- One player defeats certain officers (see below) afterwards
This is a hard one without a second player. For the second condition (officer
assassination), only the first player counts (he/she must rack all officer
deaths to his/her record). The second player isn't useless though -- he can be
used to close enemy strongholds, counter the ambush troop officers, and
generally use a "mass crowd killer" (Hideyoshi, Himiko, SSX, Da Ji, etc.) to
thin the crowds so your dumb-ass sorcerers can get to the storehouse.
The officers who need to be defeated are: Mitsuharu Fuwa (the guy in the
southeast garrison), Nagayoshi Mori, Koroku Hachisuka, Ranmaru Mori (the three
dudes north of Fuwa's fort), Mitsuhide Akechi (man-pretty dude in the western
storehouse), and Morimasa Sakuma (one of two officers in the central garrison
-- note that the other officer in the central garrison is not part of the
criteria). The hardest part of course, is cutting a path through the southwest
so your sorcerers can get to the western storehouse. You know you have failed
the sorcery when Orochi mentions, "I allow Dakki/Da Ji to fight for her
amusement. It does not matter if she wins or loses." The failed sorcerer units
will make their exit at the gate south of Akechi's storehouse.
Note that Sun WuKwong is almost a necessity here -- he can jump and push strong
attack to get his ass onto higher ground (the broken southwest sector of the
map requires it). Close the three gates in the southwest sector after your
initial stabbing death of Mitsuharu Fuwa. Keep them closed (or friendly) and go
after groups of red impeding your sorcerers. Once you've done the teleportation
(Dakki/Da Ji and Orochi appear in the western storehouse) with the timer at 55
minutes remaining or more, you should think about saving before killing the
conditional officers. Once the officers marked for death are slain, treasure
appears inside the western storehouse.
Bowl of Buddha
Battle of Wu Zhang Plains (Shu Musou)
-o- Taigong Wang arrives at the main gate (rolling rock event) within 6 minutes
of mission start
-o- One player defeats Himiko and Dakki/Da Ji within 4 minutes after the above
event
A hard one if you were following the in-game Treasure Guide. Two players helps
in the first part here -- the second part should all be done by the first
player. Taigong Wang will march through the west side of the battlefield, so
clear out Sima Yi, the two mundane Orochi officers and enemy strongholds (and
the one in the center castle) so he gets to the main gate quickly. Once that
occurs, consider saving the game. Feel free to ignore Masamune Date (unless he
rides against Taigong Wang). The key thing is to get to -- and defeat -- both
Himiko and Da Ji once the gates to the enemy camp open. You can only spare 2
minutes getting to each enemy target and then killing them. Treasure appears a
little west of Orochi X's initial position (essentially the north tip of the map).
Fire Rat Skin
Battle of Guan Du (Wei Musou)
-o- Quickly occupy Guan Du Castle and three forward garrisons ...
-o- ... and defeat officers in the middle and two guard-officers in front of
Bai Di castle within 5 minutes
-o- Last, defeat hyper-Himiko within 1 minute 40 seconds of her appearance
Although daunting, you can control Guan Du castle and seal the two bases there
(a second player makes this even faster) before you head north to wring out the
garrisons of red dots (and red gates/bases). Check the strategic map often to
make sure no enemy officer has slipped by your dragnet (there are enemy units
that do that and hold up the advance of your forces).
Be sure to take over the enemy gate near the northern small garrison, as it
contstantly generates enemies to slow your forces down. While you're taking out
red bases/gates, make a stab at the one red gate/base in the middle of the map
too. Once Oda's riflemen appear, take out the two "guard-officers" posted
outside Bai Di castle to cause its gates to open.
When you defeat the guardians in the southeast, a message about, "The main
Orochi force has arrived" will appear. When that happens, you will be perfectly
placed in the southeast to beat off Himiko, and then take her smelly EXP and
treasure. The treasure appears in the southeast corner, south of Orochi X's
main camp.
Swallow Shell
Battle of Chi Bi (Wu Musou)
-o- Occupy the altar within 2 minutes after Chosokabe naval units arrive (first
wave)
-o- Defeat Da Ji and Keiji Maeda within 3 minutes after Chosokabe naval units
arrive (second wave)
Take the enemy altar (the place where the sorcerers are constantly resurrecting
enemy units) in the southwest (labelled on the map) and then swiftly defeat
Dakki/Da Ji and Keiji Maeda (both start on the north half of the map). Defeat
the enemy units on the allied boats, then wait around the northwest or west
side of your ship fleet for the bridging boats to appear. Once that occurs, it
should be an easy ride into the altar (drench it with blood) and then to
strangle Da Ji and Keiji Maeda quickly before they move too far away. Treasure
appears in the boat "one east" of Orochi X's starting position. Whatever the
Chosokabe units are, just stick with the plan of "kill at first chance" and you
can't go wrong.
Dragon Jewel
Battle of Sekigahara (Samurai/Sengoku Musou)
-o- Defeat all cannon units within 4 minutes of mission start
-o- Defeat Masamune Date, Da Ji, and Keiji Maeda
This mission is easier than what it looks like (depsite being a final stage).
Essentially, you need to defeat the officers (famous or not) controlling the
three cannons in the southern garrison, the southeast corner and east garrison.
While there are three cannon locations, there are more than one officer at each
location, so be sure to waste everyone (ACHTUNG! NO SURVIVORS!). Masamune Date
should be among the dead, so that falls partly under the famous enemies condition.
Once the cannons are silenced, look carefully at the map. Dakki/Da Ji is
actually outside Orochi X's main camp; a generic enemy officer guards one of
the gates (the southern one) leading to Dakki's position. Whack him, then whack
Da Ji. With her gone, ride back to your own main camp to deal with Keiji
Maeda's "sneak attack" units. Simply waste Keiji Maeda and the treasure
conditions should be satisfied. Treasure appears in Orochi X's castle (in the
north east). Be sure to get it before you killing Orochi X, else you have to do
all this crap all over again. The cheat sheet nixes Masamune as part of the
deal, but since he commands cannons, hand his head over on a plate.
Weapon Fusion - and other gameplay tipsFinish All Story (Musou) Modes
This is perhaps the most important, since you eventually unlock all the
officers for play in all modes by completing all the missions in Story Mode. No
longer do you have to fight off Tadekatsu Honda seven billion times in order to
unlock him -- most characters are unlocked for play once a story campaign is
completed. Only officers from a cleared campaign may take on other officers
available in other campaigns; that's even more incentive to clear Story Mode.
About the only officer you cannot unlock by simply plodding along is Orochi X
-- of whom you unlock by completing all missions in "Dream Mode". If you're
looking to unlock more "Dreamtime" stages, simply increase the levels and
proficiencies of your main officer cast (all of them -- at least unlock all
their innate abilities). It's easy!
Keep several weapons for each officer
One weapon is the one for your officer when you play him or her -- the rest are
for mounting various abilities as you find them. Remember that the "sacrifice"
weapon does not need any attack value slapped onto it, but just slots and
abilities. Place the ones you need onto the second (or third) weapon(s) and be
ready to sacrifice it in skill upgrades to free up more working room. The more
weapon abilities you collect, the more special abilities you can make!
Chaos calls to best weapons
Hard (4 star or more) and Chaos (3 star or more) stages will drop weapons
progressively loaded with more abilities. However, don't think you can easily
defeat officers and enemies on Hard and Chaos easily. Simalcrum recommends
Tadekatsu Honda for his ever lovable 2-X random swipe (hits behind an enemy
guard) to kill enemies. Adding his power ability makes him more lethal. You can
even leave officers who you haven't levelled in the background and simply use
Honda and a horse, or the Monkey King (Sun WuKwong) for getting from one place
to another.
Sun WuKwong is a good substitute for the Cavalier ability (although you'll
probably replace it with Impulse), since you don't have to waste time waiting
for a horse to spawn and gallop towards you. Having no horse also reduces the
number of objects on the screen, and helps with frame-rate (by a little bit).
Apart from Sun WuKwong's ability to impromptu double-jump, keep in mind he is
fairly weak on Hard and Chaos, so try to avoid using him unless you've beefed
him up a few levels.
Focus your attention
Since starting officers are sometimes not great, be sure to get their officer
ability quests complete, then ditch them for better officers. Here're some of
the most effective officers for Story Mode (initially):
Shu -- Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, Tadekatsu Honda, Mitsuhide Akechi (need to unlock)
Wei -- Nu Wa, Cao Cao (average until you level him), Xiahou Dun
Wu -- Ranmaru Mori, Ginchiyo Tachibana, Zhou Tai (all default)
Sengoku -- Sakon Shima, Musashi Miyamoto, Yoshihiro Shimazu
Orochi - Orochi, Da Ji, Kotaro Fuma (later)
Once you've developed a few characters' proficiencies, you're able to get some
more weapons and do some of the conditions required for the stage treasures.
Naturally, you can duck out temporarily into a quick stage in Free Mode with
the characters you've unlocked to level them. For officers you do not like
playing, try to meet the ability quests -- once you've gained their abilities,
you can probably use them as weapon fodder or never bother with them again
(although each officer may have a unique strategic ability you may want).
However, once you've completed all the story mode campaigns, you can use
officers from another faction. This gives you greater freedom in tactical
planning. You can even double (or treble) up on the strategic ability if you
like. If you level officers, take a look at the ones in the "Dream Time"
missions and try to get those officers up in proficiency and weapons. The more
powerful the officers are, the better they will be for "Dream" missions.
Honda - More Than What You Do For Me
Honda -- that unstoppable tank -- can be the one anchor you can use in the
Orochi stage Hinokawa or something similar where you get a lot of weapon drops
(there's no stage like the Jie Ting stage from Orochi Musou this time around).
Honda is a keen guy to have around. For one, his stats make him some unkillable
dude (Orochi is similar, but moves less). Since Honda's 2-X (weak, weak,
strong, strong, strong) more or less makes him smash through crowds, you can
always alternate with his nominal 3-X (weak x3, then strong until the end) to
waste single officers.
Orochi (the old version) is also quite serviceable (mostly because you can play
him initially). Although his button moves are like Honda's, his attacks are far
different in that they have elemental attributes and they send Orochi flying
everywhere. He may be fit for single combat, but Honda's moving 2-X is far
better against "hyper-ized" enemy officers you fight on Hard and Chaos.
Use a mix of Honda/Orochi and two "weapon fetchers" on Hinokawa, Mikagatahara,
or Sekigahara on Hard or Chaos to get some damn good weapons. You should be
able to forge a load of special ability items with the weapon loot you grab
(remember, you can even sacrifice weapons for Honda/Orochi if your first weapon
is already maxxed out).
Each weapon can only store 3 special abilities, so pick the ones you're sure to
use (i.e., True Musou, etc.). If you need the speed, you can always put Sun
WuKwong in the party (although that bumps one passenger for the ride). The
advantage of using Sun WuKwong as opposed to a horse is that you need not worry
about being knocked off a horse in the midst of battle. However, do note that
Sun WuKwong is rather weak on Chaos -- a few bad battles can easily leave him
lyng dead in a puddle of his own urine.
Useful Abilities
Some abilities are simply more helpful than others. Many are from the old item
system from Dynasty Warriors, so veterans will instinctively know what to shoot
for. Here's a brief list of the most readily effective abilities in Hard and
Chaos (don't forget, with room only for three abilities, you don't want to
waste fusion slots!):
Guile (L1) - Obsidian + Flame (1) - Increases time of temporary items. Useful
for the Normal and Hard levels, not so much on Chaos unless you catch a bunch
of people in a single attack and kill them all. The extension should be enough
for you to get a few more licks of attack, defence or speed in.
Nutrition (L1) - Flourite + Drain (1) + Absorb (1) - Enemy peons will drop more
food items than normal. A moderately helpful ability in certain modes (except
survival when your weapons and officers are pre-set) where you are facing a lot
of enemies who drain your life.
Verity (L2) - Agate + Flame (1) + Multi (1) + Bolt (1) - True musou always
enabled. This power has significantly degraded since Dynasty Warriors 3 (Shin
Sanguo Musou 2) but it is occasionally helpful in certain cases. The down side
is that an officer's musou meter doesn't extend to its maximum until the Focus
ability is maxxed out, along with the officer's rank/level (max 99).
Evasion (L2) - Malachite + Flash (1) + Drain (1) + Range (1) + Rage (1) -
Reduces amount of damage received. It's like an additional layer of Fortitude,
so if you're concerned about damage, this ability is super-helpful for Hard and
Chaos.
Supremacy (L3) - Carnelian + Opal + Topaz + Dragon Jewel + Flame (2) + Flash
(2) + Drain (2) + Absorb (2) + Range (2) + Agility (2) + Might (2) - Slowly
recovers musou over time (with an active officer). This power is helpful when
coupled with the Verity power (true musou). For officers who use the musou
meter for special abilities, this ability pretty much insures you don't switch
out unless you need them to recover life in the background. Works somewhat with
the L3 ability Almighty, which delivers elemental attacks when your musou meter
is always full.
Revival (L3) - Phoenix Wing + Dragon Spleen + Lion Fang + Chimera Shell + Ice
(2) + Flash (2) + Drain (2) + Absorb (2) + Range (2) + Multi (2) + Agility (2)
+ Rage (2) - The Samurai/Sengoku power that revives your officer once if slain.
Works best for Chaos or Hard difficulties and only if you only play on those
difficulties for no reason at all. Might be worth it to attach it to Honda when
he's trolling for weapons on the hardest difficulty level (for other officers).
Fastest Stage for Officer Abilities
Shu's campaign of Nagashino has a two star rating (for stage toughness), so if
you put it on Easy or Normal, you should have a very easy time. There are about
16 to 20 enemy officers (excluding Lu Bu, the mission-ender) and plenty of
enemy gates to spawn enemies. This should satisfy most, if not all, ability
acquisition missions (and with so many officers, you can probably get the
officer quotas for all three of your characters if you need to.
Fastest Stage for Weapons (Hard)
Wei's campaign of Tong Gate has a four star rating (for stage toughness) and
several officers who drop weapons (about three or four). The primary attraction
of this stage is how fast things can go -- defeat the regenerating sorcerers
and enemies, Dong Zhuo and his gay buddies, and then the losers near Kiyomori
Taira for some great 4th-rank hardware.
Thanks and acknowledgements:
-- Omega-Force
-- KOEI Ltd.
-- J.Sikat
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